Fool of a Took
by I.3.Mas y Menos
Summary: The Fellowship notices something about Pippin and secrets are revealed. WARNING: Angst, mentions of Child abuse. One-Shot


**R&R please, you'd make me a happy hobbie. Free mushrooms to anyone who R&R's!**

Fool of a Took. He'd heard the words many times, and they never meant anything good was to follow. His father would scream the words at him whenever anything went wrong before striking him with his belt and taking away a meal. He would also later know them as the last words Gandalf would yell at him before his death, but at the moment all they reminded him of was his abusive father, and those were thoughts he never wanted to think about. No one knew of these nasty memories but Pippin's cousin Merry, but soon all would know about the tweenager's bruised path.

Pippin yelped as his foot slipped from under his tiny body, making him fall backwards into the mud. The breath was knocked out of him for a moment before a pair of large hands roughly grabbed his shoulders and under his armpits, hoisting him up. "Move, you fool or a Took!" Gandalf said sharply, angry at the Hobbit falling and splattering the watery mud onto his face and in his long beard. Pippin shuddered at the words before muttering quietly, "Sorry sir." and began to walk again, barely caring that his cloak and the clothes under it were soaked with muddy water. Aragorn, watching the now-shivering hobbit continue to walk. It was getting late, almost supper time, and, feeling gracious, told them they could rest. Merry came up to his quiet friend and ordered him to strip and let his clothes dry so he wouldn't catch cold. After much arguing and Aragorn telling him he had to ("That's cheating, Mer." he whined), Pippin obliged, stripping behind a tree to his underwear and throwing his soaked clothes at Mer, who also had it already dry cloak. As he walked out to claim his cloak and cover up with it, he heard many suprides gasps behind him when he turned his back to the fellowship.

Oh no. He'd forgotten _they_ were still there. The marks. The angry pinkish marks of his father's belt against his back and back thighs. The scars that would never leave him alone. He winced slightly when Aragorn said calmly (though you could hear the worry painting his voice), "Master Took, why do you have such violent marks on your back?" Snapping up his cloak with an angry glance at Merry for making him do this, he sighed adn said quietly, "It is nothing." "We're your friends, please tell us. We would like to know." Boromir added quietly. Pippin sighed, looking to Merry for help. "Tell them, It's fine if they know." he mouthed to his cousin, who nodded and sighed again. He sat down on his pallet beside his cousin and snuggled into his cloak more, trying to cover the same angry marks on his chest and stomach. They were noticed anyway, but the crew said nothing. "My father... he did this when I was younger. W-with his belt. I was always in trouble, always being foolish and messing something up. 'Fool of a Took' he would call me, always the fool..." he trailed off, looking down.

"Is he still alive?" Gimli all but growled, his fingers itching to find his ax and slice the man's head off. "No," Pip assured, grinning slightly, "He died a few years ago from drowning in a drunken stupor. They never found his body, but they found his pack, mug, and his fishing rod, so they assumed he was dead. Mum was devistated when she found out, she never knew about the beatings. I didn't really know how to react, so I just cried with her and kept her is a state of blessed ignorence. She never found out, which I am thankful for. The news would devistate her." Sam handed him a plate of roasted tomato's and bacon as he reminisced. Never had they seen their friend so... calm, so broken and small. Gandalf looked guilty for yelling the very same name at their youngest a few minutes before. He vowed never so call him that again.

"We are sorry, we didn't know." Aragorn said softly, looking away. They all felt guilty about making Pip relive the experience. "It's fine, you didn't mean anything by it. If you don't mind, I'm very tired and I'd like some rest now." And with that Pippin curled up in his pallet and snuggled deep under the blankets, using his cloak as an extra blanket. Everyone sent eachother tense glances before following the example and snuggling into bed. Pippin's arms immediently wrapped around Merry, who returned the hug and drifted off.

"Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time a rid us of your stupidity!" Gandalf yelled angrilly, gesturing to the guilty-looking Pippin. Just as he turned around, all the memories of that night and Pip's stories made his knee's buckle slightly. Everyone stared, slightly gob-snmacked at the sudden insult. Pippin winced and looked down, ashamed. Memories flooded to his mind, and he tried to repress them before he either threw up or cried. Just as the grey wizard was about to turn around and apologize to the now teary-eyed hobbit, the sound of orcs crawling near with the large troll filled the air. There would be time for apologies later, right now they had to fight.

No one realized that there would never be time for apologies later.


End file.
